Public Radio’s Garrison Keillor Fired for ‘Inappropriate Behavior’

In a statement released Wednesday, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) said that it has severed business connections with former A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor and his media companies. MPR reports that they took this action after learning of allegations of inappropriate behavior by Keillor with an individual who worked with him while he was responsible for the production of the A Prairie Home Companion radio show.

When they were informed of the allegations in October, MPR formed a special Board committee and retained an outside law firm to investigate the claims. The attorney leading the independent investigation has been conducting interviews and reviewing documents. The investigation is still ongoing.

"Over the last several weeks, the special Board Committee has worked closely with MPR President Jon McTaggart and legal counsel to review the facts as we know them and carefully consider the implications of the various options...The Board Committee concluded that terminating the Keillor relationships was the appropriate decision and the Board and Jon are aligned in this action." David Murphy, Chair of the MPR Board of Trustees said in a statement.

For MPR this means that going forward they will no longer distribute The Writer's Almanac radio segment or rebroadcasts of The Best of A Prairie Home Companion hosted by Garrison Keillor to other public radio stations. They will also separate from the Pretty Good Goods online catalog and the PrairieHome.org website.

In addition the name of the current incarnation of A Prairie Home Companion weekly music and variety program hosted by Chris Thile will be changed.

Keillor, 75, retired as host of the public radio variety show in 2016. He began the show that was famous for tales from the fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon in 1974.